Wilt Chamberlain - College Career

College Career

In 1955, Chamberlain joined KU. Cherry described how shocked the young teenager was when he first arrived in the still-segregated city of Lawrence, Kansas: after being treated like a star in his native Philadelphia, he now saw places black people were prohibited to enter. Chamberlain reacted by simply ignoring these signs, eating and going out wherever he wanted. When he discovered that nobody heckled him, he gave up his antipathy, and as a result black people in Lawrence were eventually treated better. Chamberlain enjoyed living in Kansas, especially enjoying the rich jazz scene in nearby Kansas City.

At KU Chamberlain became a player for the Kansas Jayhawks freshman team under coach Phog Allen, whom he admired, and also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, where he was the president of his pledge class. Announced as "looking lighter than his 240 pounds, reach 9'6" up in the air, and 7'2", his debut was highly anticipated, and he delivered: in Chamberlain's debut game for the freshman squad, the freshman Jayhawks were pitted against the varsity Jayhawks, who were favored to win their conference that year. Chamberlain dominated his older college mates by scoring 42 points (16–35 from the field, 10–12 on free throws), grabbing 29 rebounds and registering 4 blocks. Chamberlain's prospects of playing under Allen ended, however, when the coach turned 70 shortly after and was forced to retire by KU regulation. Chamberlain had a bad relationship with Allen's successor, Dick Harp, fueled by resentment and disappointment: Cherry has doubted whether Chamberlain would have chosen KU if he had known that Allen was going to retire.

On December 3, 1956, Chamberlain made his varsity debut. In his first varsity game the center scored 52 points and grabbed 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time Kansas records in a 87–69 win against the Northwestern team of future NBA team mate Joe Ruklick. Teammate Monte Johnson testified to his athleticism: "Wilt ... had unbelievable endurance and speed ... and was never tired. When he dunked, he was so fast that a lot of players got their fingers jammed ." Reportedly, Chamberlain also broke Johnny Kerr's toe with a slam dunk. By this time, Chamberlain had developed several offensive weapons that became his trademarks: his finger roll, his fadeaway jump shot, which he could also hit as a bank shot, his passing and his shot-blocking. Leading a talented squad of starters, including Maurice King, Gene Elstun, John Parker, Ron Lonesky and Lew Johnson, the Jayhawks went 13–1 until they lost a game 56–54 versus Oklahoma State, who held the ball the last three and a half minutes without any intention of scoring a basket, which was still possible in the days before the shot clock (introduced 1984 in the NCAA).

As he did at Overbrook, Chamberlain again showcased his diverse athletic talent. He ran the 100-yard dash in 10.9 seconds, shot-putted 56 feet, triple jumped more than 50 feet, and won the high jump in the Big Eight track and field championships three straight years.

In 1957, 23 teams played for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. The Midwest regional tourney was held in Dallas, Texas, which at the time was segregated. In the first game, the Jayhawks played the all-white Southern Methodist University team, and KU player John Parker later said: "The crowd was brutal. We were spat on, pelted with debris, and subjected to the vilest racial epithets possible." KU won 73–65 in overtime, after which police had to escort the Jayhawks out. The next game against Oklahoma City was equally unpleasant, with KU winning 81–61 under intense racist abuse. In the semi-finals, Chamberlain's Jayhawks handily defeated the University of San Francisco, 80–56, with Wilt scoring 32 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and having at least 7 blocked shots. (Game film is unclear whether an 8th block occurred, or the ball just fell short due to Chamberlain’s withering defensive intimidation). Chamberlain demonstrated his growing arsenal of offensive moves, including jump shots, put-backs, tip-ins, and his turnaround jump shot. He was far more comfortable and effective at the foul line than he would later be during his pro career. He had outstanding foot speed throughout the game, and several times led the fastbreak, including blocking a shot near the basket and then outracing the field for a layup. His stellar performance lead Kansas to an insurmountable lead, and he rested on the bench for the final 3:45 remaining in the game.

Chamberlain made the First Team of the All-America squad and led his Jayhawks into the NCAA finals against the Tar Heels of North Carolina. In that game, Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire used several unorthodox tactics to thwart Chamberlain. For the tip-off, he sent his shortest player, Tommy Kearns, in order to rattle Chamberlain, and the Tar Heels spent the rest of the night triple-teaming him, one defender in front, one behind, and a third arriving as soon as he got the ball. With their fixation on Chamberlain, the Jayhawks shot only 27% from the field, as opposed to 64% of the Tar Heels, and trailed 22–29 at halftime. Later, North Carolina led 40–37 with 10 minutes to go and stalled the game: they passed the ball around without any intention of scoring a basket. After several Tar Heel turnovers, the game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation. In the first overtime each teams scored 2 points, and in second overtime Kansas froze the ball in return, keeping the game tied at 48. In the third overtime, the Tar Heels scored two consecutive baskets, but Chamberlain executed a three-point play, leaving KU trailing 52–51. After King scored a basket, Kansas was ahead by one point, but then Tar Heel Joe Quigg was fouled on a drive with 10 seconds remaining and made his two foul shots. For the final play, Dick Harp called for Ron Loneski to pass the ball into Chamberlain in the low post. The pass was too soft and was intercepted, however, and the Tar Heels won the game. Nonetheless, Chamberlain, who had scored 23 points and 14 rebounds, was elected the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Cherry has speculated, however, that this loss was a watershed in Chamberlain's life, because it was the first time that his team had lost despite him putting up impressive individual stats. Chamberlain later admitted that this loss was the most painful of his life.

In Chamberlain's junior year (1957–58 NCAA season), the Jayhawks' matches were even more frustrating for him. Knowing how dominant Chamberlain was, the opponents resorted to freeze-ball tactics and routinely used three or more players to guard him. Teammate Bob Billings commented: "It was not fun basketball ... we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth." In addition Chamberlain grew weary of the punishment inflicted on him; after a game against Missouri, he showed imprints of two rows of teeth marks in his arm. Nevertheless, Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points for the season and led the Jayhawks to an 18–5 record, losing three games while he was out with a urinary infection: because KU came second in the league and at the time only conference winners were invited to the NCAA tourney, the Jayhawks' season ended. It was a small consolation that he was again named an All-American, along with future NBA Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson plus old rival Guy Rodgers.

Having lost the enjoyment from NCAA basketball and wanting to earn money, he left college and sold the story named "Why I Am Leaving College" to Look magazine for $10,000, a large sum when NBA players earned $9,000 in a whole season. In two seasons at Kansas, Chamberlain averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game while totaling 1,433 points and 877 rebounds, and led Kansas to one Big Seven championship. By the time Chamberlain was 21, he had already been featured in Time, Life, Look, and Newsweek magazines, even before he turned professional.

For many years following Chamberlain's departure from the University of Kansas, critics claimed that he either wanted to leave the very white Midwest or was embarrassed by not being able to bring home the NCAA basketball tournament victory. In 1998, Chamberlain returned to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas to participate in a jersey-retiring ceremony for his #13. Around this time, he has been quoted as saying: "There's been a lot of conversation, since people have been trying to get my jersey number retired, that I have some dislike for the University of Kansas. That is totally ridiculous."